JP2009297881A - Handling device, control device, and control method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a handling device, a control device, and a control method capable of treating workpieces being conveyed by a conveyor in the efficient order. <P>SOLUTION: This handling device comprises a vision sensor 3 for generating the workpiece data which indicates the position of the workpieces by photographing the workpieces 10 being conveyed by the belt conveyor 2; a robot 4 for performing a predetermined working for the workpieces 10 being conveyed; and a controller 5 for preparing a database by accumulating the work data transmitted from the vision sensor 3 and controlling the robot 4 in such a manner as to perform a predetermined operation for the workpieces 10 conveyed to the position of the robot 4 using the database. The controller 5 performs a predetermined calculation for each workpiece data stored in the database, and re-arranges the order in which the robot 4 performs operations for the workpieces 10. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a handling device, a control device, and a control method for efficiently processing articles conveyed by a belt conveyor.

  A visual sensor is arranged upstream of the belt conveyor, an article (hereinafter referred to as a workpiece) conveyed by the belt conveyor is detected, and the robot performs an operation on the workpiece using the output data of the visual sensor. Controlling handling devices are known. For example, in the handling apparatus shown in Patent Document 1, the visual sensor images each work being conveyed by the belt conveyor, creates data corresponding to each work, and transmits the data to the robot controller. The robot controller creates a database of received data, and performs a process based on the data read from the above-described database for a work that has reached the work position of the robot by transporting the belt conveyor.

JP 2007-15055 A

  The apparatus described in Patent Literature 1 stores data transmitted from a visual sensor in sequence to construct a database, and controls the operation of the robot in accordance with the contents stored in the database. Therefore, it is not always possible to process a plurality of workpieces conveyed by the belt conveyor in order from the conveyance downstream side, and the operation of the robot becomes complicated, and it may become impossible to process the workpieces placed on the conveyance downstream. It can happen.

  An object of the present invention is to obtain a handling device, a control device, and a control method capable of processing the workpieces conveyed by the belt conveyor in an efficient order.

  The handling apparatus according to the present invention generates a work data indicating a position of a work by picking up an image of the work transported by the transport means for transporting the work, a robot for performing a predetermined operation on the work, and the work transported by the transport means A visual sensor and a control means for creating a database by accumulating work data transmitted from the visual sensor and controlling the robot using the database so as to perform a predetermined operation on the work conveyed to the position of the robot. Then, the control means reads the work data stored in the database, performs a predetermined calculation, and rearranges the order in which the robot performs the work on the plurality of works.

  Preferably, the control means performs control so as to start work from a work on the conveyance downstream side of the conveyance means.

  Preferably, the control means stores, as a database, tracking data in which work data transmitted from the visual sensor is collected for each image captured by the visual sensor, and each work data included in the tracking data Calculate the scalar quantity of the mapping vector of the workpiece, and sort the order in which the robot performs the work based on the scalar quantity of the mapping vector of each workpiece, and work on each workpiece according to the order sorted by the computing section And a drive control unit for controlling the robot to perform.

  The control device according to the present invention includes a storage unit that stores a plurality of work data transmitted from a visual sensor that captures a plurality of workpieces conveyed by the conveyance unit as tracking data that is collected for each image captured by the visual sensor. A calculation unit that performs a predetermined calculation on each piece of work data of the tracking data stored in the storage unit, and rearranges the order in which the work is transported by the transport unit; Drive control means for controlling the robot to perform work on each workpiece according to the order.

  The control method of the present invention is a step of storing a plurality of work data transmitted from a visual sensor that images a plurality of workpieces conveyed by the conveying unit in a storage unit as tracking data collected for each image captured by the visual sensor. A step in which the calculation means performs a predetermined calculation on each work data of the tracking data stored in the storage means and rearranges the order in which the work is carried by the conveyance means, and the calculation means And a step in which the drive control means controls the robot so as to perform work on each workpiece according to the rearranged order.

  According to the present invention, work can be efficiently performed on a workpiece to be conveyed.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below.
First Embodiment FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of a handling device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The illustrated handling apparatus 1 includes a belt conveyor 2, a visual sensor 3, a robot 4, a robot controller 5, and a conveyor encoder 6.

The belt conveyor 2 is a conveying means that conveys a workpiece 10 such as an in-process article in the direction of a conveyor vector A indicated by an arrow in the drawing.
The visual sensor 3 is arranged so as to image a plurality of workpieces 10 mounted on the belt conveyance surface 2a of the belt conveyor 2 at a position on the conveyance upstream side of the belt conveyor 2. The visual sensor 3 is connected via a LAN such as Ethernet (registered trademark) so as to output work data as output data and a trigger signal indicating imaging timing to the robot controller 5 described later. Yes.

  The robot 4 includes, for example, a holding unit 4a that grips the workpieces 10 conveyed by the belt conveyor 2 one by one, and an arm unit 4b that supports the holding unit 4a so as to be movable within a predetermined range.

  The robot controller 5 is control means connected to control the operation of the robot 4. Further, the robot controller 5 is connected so as to input an output signal of a conveyor encoder 6 to be described later and work data and a trigger signal transmitted from the visual sensor 3 via the communication line described above.

  The conveyor encoder 6 is a movement amount detection means for detecting the conveyance distance of the belt conveyor 2, that is, detecting the movement amount of the workpiece 10 placed on the belt conveyance surface 2a.

  Although FIG. 1 illustrates a configuration including one robot 4 and one robot controller 5 that controls the robot 4, the configuration includes a plurality of robots 4 and robot controllers 5. May be. Specifically, for example, a router is provided which receives work data and a trigger signal transmitted from the visual sensor 3 to the communication line. A plurality of robot controllers 5 are connected to this router. With this configuration, each robot controller 5 can control the robot 4 by inputting work data and trigger signals used for its own processing operation from the router.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a visual sensor, a robot, and a robot controller constituting the handling apparatus 1 of FIG.
The visual sensor 3 includes a camera 11 and an image processing unit 12. The camera 11 is composed of a CCD camera, for example.
The camera 11 is disposed so as to capture an image of the belt conveyance surface 2a on which the workpiece 10 is placed. For example, the tracking range S illustrated in FIG. 1 is provided so as to be a single imaging range.
The image processing unit 12 is configured to process the image data output from the camera 11 and generate work data.
The visual sensor 3 includes a communication unit (not shown) that transmits a trigger signal indicating the imaging timing of the camera 11 and the above-described work data to a communication line.

The robot controller 5 includes an input unit 13, a display unit 14, a calculation unit 15, a storage unit 16, and a drive control unit 17.
The input unit 13 is configured to allow a user to perform a setting operation or the like, and is connected to input the setting content to the calculation unit 15.
The display unit 14 is connected to the calculation unit 15 so as to display the above-described operation / setting contents and the operation status of the robot 4.

The calculation unit 15 includes a data management unit 15a, a tracking manager 15b, and a work manager 15c.
The data management unit 15 a is configured to perform an operation process of storing each data in the storage unit 16 and an operation of reading data from the storage unit 16.
The tracking manager 15b is configured to monitor the position indicated by each tracking data D1, in other words, the tracking range S.
The work manager 15c is configured to select a work 10 that causes the robot 4 to perform work from a plurality of works 10 existing in the tracking range S.

The storage unit 16 stores tracking data D1 under the control of the calculation unit 15, and a database is constructed by storing a plurality of tracking data D1.
The tracking data D1 includes the number of the workpieces 10 extracted from the image data obtained by the visual sensor 3 by one imaging, the movement amount indicated by the output signal of the conveyor encoder 6, and the image data obtained by the above one imaging. It is comprised by the workpiece | work data of each workpiece | work 10 extracted from.
The drive control unit 17 is configured to generate a control signal for driving each unit of the robot 4 to be described later and operate the robot 4.
The robot 4 includes a holding motor 18 that drives the holding unit 4a and an arm motor 19 that drives the arm unit 4b that supports the holding unit 4a.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the handling apparatus 1 of FIG.
In step S1, the camera 11 of the visual sensor 3 images the workpiece 10 placed on the belt conveyance surface 2a on the upstream side of conveyance of the belt conveyor 2 as described above.

In step S <b> 2, the image processing unit 12 of the visual sensor 3 extracts a part of each work 10 from the image captured by the camera 11, and generates work data for each work 10.
In step S <b> 3, the communication unit of the visual sensor 3 (not shown) transmits the work data corresponding to the trigger signal indicating the imaging timing of the camera 11.

In step S4, the robot controller 5 receives the work data transmitted in the step S3, and the data management unit 15a stores the work data in the storage unit 16 in the receiving unit of the robot controller 5 (not shown in detail). Remember me.
At this time, each piece of work data sent corresponding to one trigger signal is stored together as one tracking data D1, and stored so that a database is constructed.

In step S5, the tracking manager 15c of the robot controller 5 monitors the output signal of the conveyor encoder 6.
Further, the data management unit 15a reads the tracking data D1 including the workpiece 10 moving in the workpiece detection area shown in FIG. 1 from the storage unit 16 according to the monitoring result of the tracking manager 15b.
The work manager 15c performs an operation using each work data constituting the tracking data D1 read from the storage unit 16 by the data management unit 15a, and rearranges the order in which the robot 4 performs the handling work according to the operation result. .

In step S6, the drive controller 17 of the robot controller 5 controls the operation of the robot 4 so as to hold the workpieces 10 according to the order rearranged in step S5.
The handling device 1 generally operates in this way.

Next, the detailed operation of each part will be described.
The visual sensor 3 captures an image in a certain imaging range, for example, an image in the tracking range S, from the imaging origin 20a at the upstream end of the belt conveying surface 2a or in the vicinity thereof on the upstream side of the conveyor belt 2.
Specifically, the camera 11 in FIG. 2 images the tracking range S of the belt conveyance surface 2a at its own imaging timing (step S1).

The image processing unit 12 extracts the shape of the workpiece 10 included in the image in the tracking range S, and compares the shape with the shape data for each type stored in the image processing unit 12 itself. Identify 10 varieties.
Further, the image processing unit 12 detects the coordinate value of an arbitrary part of the workpiece 10 from the image in the tracking range S, and generates workpiece data of the workpiece 10 (step S2).
This coordinate value is a value expressed in a coordinate system used in each process performed by the camera 11 or the visual sensor 3 itself.
The visual sensor 3 may generate the work data including a coordinate value indicating the posture of the work.
As described above, the visual sensor 3 sequentially transmits the generated work data to the robot controller 5 (step S3).

  FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the handling apparatus 1 of FIG. This figure shows an operation in which the data management unit 15a of the robot controller 5 stores each work data 10 sent from the visual sensor 3 in the storage unit 16 in the step S4 described above.

When the communication unit or the like receives a plurality of work data 10 transmitted from the visual sensor 3 for each trigger signal, the data management unit 15a generates the tracking data D1 by combining the work data 10 into one.
Further, the data management unit 15a generates the tracking data D1 taking into account the data indicating the amount of movement of the belt conveyor 2 input from the conveyor encoder 6, and stores the tracking data D1 in the storage unit 16 to construct the database. .

  In FIG. 4, the tracking data D1 generated from the [i-1] th image captured by the visual sensor 3 is the tracking data Trk [i-1], and the tracking data generated from the [i] th imaged. D1 is shown as tracking data Trk [i], and tracking data D1 generated from the [i + 1] -th captured image is shown as tracking data Trk [i + 1].

  The tracking data Trk [i] shown in FIG. 4 represents data when, for example, ten workpieces 10 are detected from the tracking range S imaged by the visual sensor 3 at the [i] th, and the workpiece data Wrk [ 0] to Wrk [9].

For example, when generating the tracking data Trk [i], the data management unit 15a receives the [i] -th trigger signal from the visual sensor 3, and the tracking data corresponding to the trigger signal is received. An area for storing Trk [i] is secured in the storage unit 16.
Further, the data management unit 15a stores the signal input from the conveyor encoder 6 here, that is, data indicating the movement amount of the belt conveyor 2 in the storage unit 16 as a component of the tracking data Trk [i].
Furthermore, the data management unit 15a stores / stores the work data Wrk [0] to [9] sequentially sent from the visual sensor 3 in the area of the tracking data Trk [i] secured in the storage unit 16 described above. To do.

For the sake of clarity, FIG. 4 shows two workpieces 10 in the [i] -th tracking range S, and omits all the workpieces 10 placed in the [i] -th tracking range. ing.
Further, the above [i−1], [i], [i + 1] and the like indicating the order of imaging by the visual sensor 3 are appended to each tracking data D1 as tracking numbers.

The work data that the visual sensor 3 sequentially transmits to the robot controller 5 is configured as work data Wrk [0] to [9] shown in FIG. 4, for example.
The work data Wrk [0] to [9] are X coordinate data, Y coordinate data of the coordinate system used by the visual sensor 3 in its own motion processing, and C coordinate data representing rotation on the XY plane. Have.
The work data Wrk [0] to [9] is configured by adding a plurality of additional data, for example, additional data (1) to (3). The additional data (1) to (3) represent conditions and the like related to various operation processes, and are data indicating, for example, the types determined by the visual sensor 3 as described above. These additional data (1) to (3) are set in the visual sensor 3 as desired by the user.

Each workpiece 10 imaged by the visual sensor 3 on the upstream side of the conveyance of the belt conveyor 2 is conveyed to a position where the robot 4 is disposed in a predetermined time.
The robot controller 5 controls the operation of the robot 4 using a database stored in the storage unit 16, and performs a handling operation on the workpiece 10 conveyed to the position of the robot 4.
The handling operation of the robot 4 is performed in a workpiece detection area provided between the workpiece detection area start point 20b and the workpiece detection area end point 20c shown in FIG.

The tracking manager 15b of the robot controller 5 monitors data indicating the amount of movement included in each tracking data D1, and detects the position of each workpiece 10 being conveyed.
Specifically, the tracking manager 15b extracts data indicating the movement amount of each tracking data D1 stored in the database.
Furthermore, the tracking manager 15b recognizes which tracking data D1 corresponds to the tracking range S that is moving in the work detection area, using the data indicating the extracted movement amount.
The tracking manager 15b reads the recognized tracking data D1 from the storage unit 16 using the data management unit 15a.

The work manager 15c inputs the tracking data D1 read from the storage unit 16, that is, the tracking data D1 recognized by the tracking manager 15b.
The work manager 15c selects what is to be processed from a plurality of work data included in the input tracking data D1.
In other words, one to be held by the robot 4 is selected from a plurality of workpieces 10 that have reached the workpiece detection area.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the handling apparatus 1 of FIG.
This figure shows a state B in which the order of the workpiece data stored in the database is associated with each workpiece 10 placed on the belt conveyance surface 2a, and the order in which the robot 4 holds the belt and the belt conveyance surface 2a. A state C is shown in which each workpiece 10 placed thereon is associated.
In addition, said state B is an example of the order which stored the work data transmitted from the visual sensor 3 in a database sequentially, and is not limited to the order shown in figure.

The work manager 15c rearranges the order in which the robot 4 holds each work 10 in the process of step S5 in FIG.
Specifically, in one tracking range S, work data corresponding to each work 10 is rearranged so that the robot 4 sequentially holds the work 10 on the downstream side of the conveyance.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a calculation process performed by the robot controller of the handling apparatus 1 of FIG.
O shown in the figure is an arbitrary reference point. Further, the vector Cν is a unit vector determined by, for example, a user, and indicates the same direction as the conveyor vector A representing the conveying operation of the belt conveyor 2.
The reference point O is set upstream of the tracking range S that is moving in the workpiece detection area, for example. The reference point O illustrated in FIG. 6 is provided at the center portion in the width direction of the belt conveyance surface 2a.

For example, when the coordinate of the position P of the workpiece 10 is (Px, Py) and the coordinate of the reference point O is (Ox, Oy) on the surface of the belt conveyance surface 2a, the vector Pn from the reference point O to the workpiece 10 Becomes (Px-Ox, Py-Oy).
When the angle formed by the vector Pn and the vector Cν is θ, the mapping vector Pn ^C of the workpiece 10 is expressed by the following equation (1).

  Here, the inner product of the vector Pn and the vector Cν is expressed as shown in Equation (2).

  Since the vector Cν is a unit vector as described above, the scalar quantity is “1”. Therefore, the inner product described above is expressed by the following equation (3).

From the above equations (1) and (3), the scalar quantity of the mapping vector Pn ^C is expressed as the following equation (4).

Thus, the scalar quantity of the mapping vector Pn ^C of the workpiece 10 can be obtained by the inner product of the vector P and the vector Cν.
For example, the work manager 15c of the calculation unit 15 obtains the scalar quantity of the mapping vector Pn ^C for all the work data included in one tracking data D1 in this way.

By representing the position of each workpiece 10 by the scalar quantity of the mapping vector Pn ^C , the operation of the robot 4 is performed even when the coordinate system of the workpiece data sent from the visual sensor 3 is not aligned with the transport direction of the belt conveyor 2. Can be used for control.
Further, no matter how the coordinate origin of the image captured by the visual sensor 3 is arranged, it can be used for operation control of the robot 4.

For example, when the number of work data included in one tracking data D1 is 10, the scalar quantity of the mapping vector Pn ^C of each work data obtained as described above is represented by the following data string (5). Line up like

When the origin O as described above was set in conveying upstream, scalar quantity of the mapping vector Pn ^C a work 10 which is located in the transport downstream side becomes a large value.
The computing unit 15 rearranges each scalar quantity using, for example, a selective sorting method. For example, the work manager 15c of the calculation unit 15 compares the scalar quantities in the data string (5) and rearranges them in descending order.
The work manager 15c selects work data in order corresponding to each scalar quantity arranged in the data string (5).
Work Manager 15c is thus the work data sequentially with a scalar quantity of large mapping vector Pn ^C, it is selected as a work data used for the operation control of the robot 4.

  In the process of step S6 in FIG. 3, the drive control unit 17 controls the operation of the robot 4 using the work data sequentially selected by the work manager 15c, for example, as shown in the state C in FIG. The handling work is sequentially performed from the workpiece 10 to be performed.

By Work Manager 15c may sort through the data sequence (5) in response to the scalar quantity of the mapping vector Pn ^C, to correspond to the sorted data string (5) to change the order of processing each workpiece data The order in which the robot 4 holds the workpieces 10 can be changed.

According to the handling device 1 of the first embodiment described above, since the calculation unit 15 rearranges the order of the work data used for the operation control of the robot 4, it is conveyed to the belt conveyor 2 and the work detection area is set. Work can be efficiently performed on the moving workpiece 10.
In addition, since the work order is rearranged and the work is performed from the work 10 located on the downstream side of the conveyance, it is possible to prevent the work 10 being conveyed from being missed.
Further, useless operations of the robot 4 can be suppressed.

Second Embodiment A handling apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention is configured in the same manner as the handling apparatus described in the first embodiment. A duplicate description of the same configuration as that of the apparatus described in the first embodiment is omitted.
The handling device according to the second embodiment operates in substantially the same manner as the device described in the first embodiment. Here, redundant description of operations similar to those of the apparatus described in the first embodiment will be omitted, and operations that characterize the handling apparatus according to the second embodiment will be described.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the handling device according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
This figure shows a state B in which the order of the workpiece data stored in the database is associated with each workpiece 10 placed on the belt conveyance surface 2a, and the order in which the robot 4 holds the belt and the belt conveyance surface 2a. A state D in which each workpiece 10 placed thereon is associated is shown.
In addition, said state B is an example of the order which stored the work data transmitted from the visual sensor 3 in a database sequentially like the state B shown in FIG. 5, and is not limited to the order shown in figure.

The work manager 15c of the handling apparatus 1 according to the second embodiment rearranges the order in which the robot 4 holds the workpieces 10 as in the state D in the step S5 of FIG. 3 described in the first embodiment. .
Specifically, in one tracking range S, work data corresponding to each work 10 is rearranged so that the robot 4 sequentially holds the work 10 on the downstream side of the conveyance.
For example, the work 10 placed on the most downstream side of the conveyance is obtained by the calculation described in the first embodiment.
Next, the workpiece 10 placed at the position closest to the workpiece 10 is detected by comparing the coordinate values of the workpiece data, for example. In this way, the workpieces 10 placed in the vicinity are sequentially detected, and the workpiece data are rearranged according to the detected order.

  As described above, the work manager 15c rearranges the work data and sequentially outputs the work data to the drive control unit 17, whereby the robot 4 performs the work on each work 10 in the order shown in the state D of FIG.

According to the handling device 1 of the second embodiment described above, since the calculation unit 15 of the robot controller 5 rearranges the order of the work data used for the operation control of the robot 4, it is conveyed by the belt conveyor 2. Work can be efficiently performed on the workpiece 10 moving in the workpiece detection area.
In addition, the work order is rearranged, the work is started from the work 10 located on the downstream side of the conveyance, and the work is sequentially performed on the work 10 in the vicinity. Can be suppressed.
Further, useless operations of the robot 4 can be suppressed.

It is explanatory drawing which shows schematic structure of the handling apparatus by the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the visual sensor, robot, and robot controller which comprise the handling apparatus 1 of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the handling apparatus 1 of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows operation | movement of the handling apparatus 1 of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows operation | movement of the handling apparatus 1 of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the arithmetic processing which the robot controller of the handling apparatus 1 of FIG. 1 performs. It is explanatory drawing which shows operation | movement of the handling apparatus by the 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Handling apparatus, 2 Belt conveyor, 3 Vision sensor, 4 Robot, 4a Holding part, 4b Arm part, 5 Robot controller, 10 Work, 11 Camera, 12 Image processing part, 13 Input part, 14 Display part, 15 Calculation part, 15a data management unit, 15b tracking manager, 15c work manager, 16 storage unit, 17 drive control unit, 18 holding motor, 19 arm motor.

Claims (5)

Conveying means for conveying the workpiece;
A robot that performs a predetermined operation on the workpiece;
A visual sensor that images the work being transported by the transport means and generates work data indicating the position of the work;
A control means for creating a database by accumulating the work data transmitted from the visual sensor, and controlling the robot using the database so as to perform a predetermined operation on the work conveyed to the position of the robot;
Have
The control means reads out the work data stored in the database, performs a predetermined calculation, and rearranges the order in which the robot performs work for a plurality of works.
Handling device. The control means includes
Control to start work from the work downstream of the transport means;
The handling device according to claim 1. The control means includes
A storage unit that stores, as a database, tracking data in which work data transmitted from the visual sensor is collected for each image captured by the visual sensor;
An arithmetic unit that obtains the scalar quantity of the mapping vector of each workpiece from each workpiece data included in the tracking data, and rearranges the order in which the robot performs the work based on the scalar quantity of the mapping vector of each workpiece;
A drive control unit that controls the robot so as to perform work on each workpiece according to the order rearranged by the arithmetic unit;
Having
The handling device according to claim 1 or 2. Storage means for storing a plurality of workpiece data transmitted from a visual sensor that images a plurality of workpieces conveyed by the conveying means as tracking data collected for each image captured by the visual sensor;
A calculation unit that performs a predetermined calculation on each piece of work data of the tracking data stored in the storage unit, and rearranges the order in which work is performed on each workpiece transferred by the transfer unit;
Drive control means for controlling the robot so as to perform work on each workpiece according to the order rearranged by the computing means;
A control device. Storing a plurality of workpiece data transmitted from a visual sensor that images a plurality of workpieces conveyed by a conveyance unit in a storage unit as tracking data collected for each image captured by the visual sensor;
A step of performing a predetermined calculation on each work data of the tracking data stored in the storage means, and rearranging the order of performing work on each work conveyed by the conveying means;
A step in which the drive control means controls the robot so as to perform work on each workpiece according to the order rearranged by the calculation means;
A control method.

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